


Dreams of Endless Blue

by Shadaras



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Flying, Getting Together, post-TFA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24236377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadaras/pseuds/Shadaras
Summary: Jessika wants to give Rey the sky (and maybe kiss her a little, too).
Relationships: Jessika Pava/Rey
Comments: 13
Kudos: 35
Collections: Writing Rainbow Make Up Round





	Dreams of Endless Blue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nununununu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nununununu/gifts).



“I’ve flown them in sims for years,” Rey says, stroking the nose of Jessika’s X-Wing, “but I never had a chance to see a working one until I left Jakku. I liked them a lot; they’re versatile in a way that most of the other starfighter options weren’t. Good in atmo, good in space. Beautiful at navigating that space just between the two, where everything is just barely blue, and it’s the most gorgeous color I can think of. Water and sky and freedom, all in one.”

Jessika watches her, trying not to focus so much on the little motions of Rey’s fingers across the metal that she misses the words Rey’s saying. It’s hard, because sometimes Rey talks like she just wants her words to be in the air, or like the machines she surrounds herself with are the recipients of her dialogue; if that’s what Rey’s doing and Jessika talks, it’s more like interrupting a fragile moment than having a conversation, and she doesn’t want that.

Rey glances over her shoulder, face framed by a dangling strand of hair Jessika aches to tuck behind her ear. “The sims say that there’s room enough for two in an X-Wing, when you’re training.”

“Yeah,” Jessika says, automatic, and Rey’s face lights up like the sun she’s named for. “I— mine isn’t set up for it, but I bet at least one of the pilots who _did_ bring a training-capable X-Wing along will be happy to let the Resistance’s newest hero borrow it for a spin.”

“What kind of bargain will they drive?” Rey’s hands are by her sides again, posture falsely casual; Rey’s smart and subtle but Jessika’s felt the calculations in her eyes. “Because there are some things flight isn’t worth.”

Jessika shrugs and leans back against her X-Wing’s landing gear. Rey can have the space, take control. “Most of them won’t want anything other than a promise you aren’t going to hurt their baby.” She tilts her head, smiles at the confusion clear in Rey’s stillness. “If you’re worried, I can ask instead and not even tell them you’re the one I’ll take up for a training flight.”

“Would you?” Rey’s right next to her in an instant, hand on Jessika’s forearm. Skin-to-skin, because Jessika rolled up her sleeves in D’Qar’s heat. “I— Do you want anything in return?”

Jessika breathes, and smells the hangar’s oil and the wild growth of D’Qar and Rey’s sweat, and tries not to let that stir her too much. “Fly me through a sim before I take you up. That’s all the bargain I need.” She wouldn’t even ask that, except that Rey doesn’t seem like she trusts people who offer things freely. Jessika isn’t sure how many others have noticed the way Rey hesitates and only takes gifts when she doesn’t have a choice, but it’s so clear to her—especially once she heard about Jakku and the life Rey had lived there—that Rey was used to unspoken strings being tied to any gift.

Rey nods once, sharp and focused. “Tell me when and where the sims are.”

“They’re in the rec center.” Jessika keeps her gaze steady, somehow, as Rey’s fingers drag across her skin and lift off. “I’ll be free tomorrow at 1430. Meet me there?”

Another nod. Jessika almost expects Rey to leave, then, but— “Do you want any help cleaning her off?” with a clear head-tilt towards the X-Wing.

“Yeah,” Jessika breathes. “I’d like that.”

Rey smiles, and it’s like a sunrise.

The next day, Jessika sits behind Rey in the cramped sim, trying not to think about how little there is separating them, and how little Rey seems to notice the close quarters. Rey’s all business, flicking through the start-up sequence with clear familiarity—though she hesitates for a moment on some switches Jessika knows have been updated in the recent generations—before raising them up into the wide blue simulated D’Qarian sky.

Rey’s chosen a program that Jessika knows is brutal, one that a lot of the current Resistance pilots hate and which Poe makes them run at least once a fortnight anyway because “If it’s hard enough for you to hate it but still scrape through, then it’s a good challenge for you.” Which Jessika can’t argue with, but she also knows that Rey’s been on base for barely longer than a fortnight, and if she’s ever sat behind the pilot’s seat of a craft more advanced than the _Falcon_ she’d be amazed.

But it’s not her choice of program, and she’d told Rey—last night, when they parted ways to shower (Rey’s delight in endless water would never cease to send Jessika’s heart fluttering)—that Rey could pick any program she wanted. Today, Rey had said nothing more than, “I took a look this morning, and this one seemed really fun,” and Jessika had—

Well, she’d trusted Rey, and not said anything about the course’s reputation among the pilots.

As the first simulated TIE fighter came on-screen, Jessika wonders if that was the correct choice for a brief moment, but then Rey touches the controls and the sim spins. Jessika grabs hold of the back of Rey’s chair, fingers brushing close to her shoulder, and watches as Rey puts the simulated X-Wing through paces that Jessika doesn’t think she’s seen even on Poe’s records—and he’s the person everyone talks about as the best X-Wing pilot of their generation.

By the time Rey finishes killing the last TIE interceptor (with an intricate reverse-flip that Jessika’s gut feels shouldn’t have worked in atmo but which the sim thinks is fine), Jessika’s sure that there’s going to be an audience when they leave. Rey brings the X-Wing back to the hangar, and the run ends. The sim flashes up _NEW RECORD_ and then _PILOT DESIGNATION?_ and Jessika whoops, laughing at the stunned expression she sees reflected by the darkened screen.

“Do you have a callsign?” she asks, leaning forward to prop her chin on Rey’s shoulder. It’s warm, almost sweaty, and Rey shifts to make better room for her. “That’s usually what we put in.”

“I don’t,” Rey says. She pauses, then laughs a little huff of air. “Scavenger, maybe, but—”

“You can do better,” Jessika says, very sure. “If you want to just write your name in, that’s fine too.”

“Yeah,” Rey says, fingers flicking out to input three simple letters. “Make sure everyone knows.”

“Hey,” Jessika whispers in Rey’s ear, before the sim opens and everyone outside starts to babble. “ _Everyone_ is going to want to let you fly their ships now, just for an explanation of how you did half of that.”

Rey turns to face her, a smile tugging at her eyes. “When I was trapped inside by sandstorms, I had nothing better to do than push sims to their limit. It’s just practice. Nothing fancy.” And then Rey’s smile blooms, and she carefully kisses Jessika’s cheek. “Thanks for telling me it was okay to use these, I’ve been eyeing them for a while, but I’d thought they were just for the pilots. And I’m glad you were the one to watch. I— It’s nice, having you with me.”

The sim opens, and Jessika is saved from needing to think of a response other than _I want to kiss you_ by the rush of noise: A dozen voices cheering and overlapping in their entirely-predictable demands.

But as they stand, Jessika realises that Rey still isn’t looking at any of them.

Rey’s only got eyes for her.

Jessika reaches around the chair, takes Rey’s hand. “I still want to go flying with you,” she says, and it’s true. “But I think we can do some fancier things. How do you feel about formation flying?”

“I can’t think of anything I’d want more,” Rey says. She squeezes Jessika’s hand, and it’s a promise. “But first, I think I’ve got some pilots to teach.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Jessika says, and she means it.

(That night, Rey shows up at her bunk, and—

Jessika might not have meant her invitation as an innuendo, but Rey kissing her with careful lips and firm hands is just as welcome as dancing through the endless blue sky, wild and free.)


End file.
